Karin Shah's Blog - Posts Tagged "dragon-shifters"

Got my confirmed release date for IN LIKE A LION, the first in my Chimera Chronicles Paranormal Romance series!
The date is -- Drumroll please --
December 19, 2012! That's right, take Jake home for Christmas! He's never had a home, so I'm sure he'll be very grateful!:-)

Fight scenes are one of the hardest scenes to write. How do you write a scene that requires so much cause end effect and linear sequencing without boring (or losing) the reader?

I start in layers.
Layer 1. Setting, we have to know where we are in order to know what's going on. A scene in an alley is different from a scene in a warehouse. If the walls of the alley are made of brick and my hero gets pinned up against it, he might be scraped. Sounds will travel differently. The items in the alley are props that act as obstacles or weapons of opportunity for the hero, the heroine or their enemies.
1.a Costume, if my hero is wearing a leather jacket, he's probably not going to feel the prick of the bricks through it. He definitely will if he's wearing a cotton t-shirt. Clothing can be tricky, it's not always easy to remember what you put on your hero. Proof reading for continuity is extremely important here.

2. Blocking, who did what to whom? This should be the easiest part, but making sure actions happen in order is harder than you might think. The hero is hit, then he feels the pain/blood/whatever. Describing each action can also be difficult. Not everybody knows what a side kick is, or any of the other martial arts terms. Descriptions should be as succinct as possible, a move that took under a second, can't take more than a sentence to describe or the reader may feel bogged down. A scene with a lot of moves may require a simple bushing over like "suddenly the biker was on his knees, his arm twisted behind his back." Check out this YouTube video of British martial artist stunt man/actor, Scott Adkins doing fight choreography for the movie Wolverine. (Notice he only has a wire on in the very last move:-)) Imagine describing some of these moves! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mog-oC...


3.Emotion, this is one of the most critical parts of a fight scene. The reader has to feel something, so the character needs to react and feel, as well. Even if he's just numb or detached, the reader has to know. When writing alpha heroes emotion can be one of the hardest things to convey during a fight scene. These are strong guys. They don't feel the fear or pain the way a regular person would. A good way to bring in the reader emotionally is to have the heroine react, or bystanders. Or put the heroine or his best friend in danger, or a child, pet, etc. They won't worry for themselves, but they have to worry for others. (Even if they cover it really well.:-) )

4. (Plot)Change, a fight scene, like a love scene, should not be gratuitous. When it's over, something has to have changed, whether it's the relationship between the hero and the heroine, an elevation in the danger, or a huge plot point. In my book IN LIKE A LION Jake and Anjali get into a car chase on a highway paralleling the Mojave National Preserve. They are driven off the road. Jake fights in almost pitch darkness and in the end they are forced into the vast, potentially deadly desert.

So if fight scenes are so complicated, why do I love them? 1.I'm a total fangirl of Martial Arts movies (ask me about Undisputed III) 2. I do Taekwondo. 3. They can: keep the pace going while raising the stakes, increase rooting interest, advance the relationship of the hero and heroine, and be great fun to read.

And you? Fight scenes, love 'em or hate 'em?

Being a pantser, I've come to a place in my manuscript where I added a character purely to raise the stakes. Now, I'm trying to decide if I should "redshirt" (kill him off to reinforce the seriousness of the situation) him or just put hm in a coma.

He's the police officer boyfriend of of the heroine's best friend. The friend is tied to a chair because she's possessed by a demon. The boyfriend has come to visit and caught them with his girlfriend tied to a chair. He's not anything more than a bit character, but he is a policeman, how would you as a reader feel if I kill him off?

Oh, the demon is going to attack him not the hero, etc.


Help, please!

I was interviewed by the Creatively Green Write at Home Mom. Stop by and comment at the second stop on my bog tour and get a chance to win a coupon code for a free copy of IN LIKE A LION! http://www.creativelygreen.blogspot.com/

Here's what InD'tale magazine had to say about IN LIKE A LION: http://www.indtale.com/reviews/lion

I'm a bit late posting today because of a morning commitment (Taekwondo pix and belt ceremony. I'm a purple belt now!)
But...Another day, another blog stop, another chance to enter to win a free ecopy of IN LIKE A LION.
Please tweet, like, share and comment!

http://bibliophilesthoughtsonbooks.bl...

Happy Saturday!

Come and chat with me today at:

http://nightskydarkstar.blogspot.com/

Enter the contest for a chance to win or just keep a lonely author company. We can talk dogs or Supernatural or Grimm or Arrow...or whatever...:-)

Find out what probing questions I was asked by Bookswagger at http://bookswagger.com/2013/02/27/in-...

Looking for a YA Editor to be a final judge for my RWA Chapters contest. I keep calling, but I've only left two messages. I'm hoping my persistence is impressive not annoying.

And in Chimera 2 (still thinking of titles-- suggestions to do with ghosts most welcome) lions frolic in New York City's Central Park.

Also, my cover is in the finals at http://www.indtale.com/cover-contest please stop by and vote! You have to subscribe, but it's free and it's a great site!

Today Jake from IN LIKE A LION is interviewed at

http://lauriethoughts-reviews.blogspo...

I hope you enjoy! Also, Soul Mate is having a promotion and IN LIKE A LION is currently priced at $3.99!

Have a great day!

Karin

Ok, full disclosure, I'm from Rochester, NY. My hometown, the suburb of Greece, handles the totals we got yesterday here in Columbus pretty much every day, from after Christmas to the end of March. We had to get six inches an hour for several hours to get a snow day. Of course, as a kid, I loved a snow day and I don't usually mind them now, except, I really didn't need my kids home today.
I'm passing the fifty thousand word mark on Chimera 2. I'm in the middle of writing a treasure heist scene and then the end is in sight. I need all the time I can get because I want to get this out in the spring and unfortunately, I was stuck for two months, unable to write what I had originally planned. Then I changed it to the heist and miraculously the words are flowing. I can't stop now, despite the fact that I'm afraid readers will find the book has a split personality and right now I think it's terrible.

So, please. Wear your pajamas right side out tonight for me?

Karin

I have two fancies. I show my dogs. And I write. Of course, the second is more of an obsession, but both subjects fill my inbox. The problem? Both subjects have very similar lexicons. For example, I see the subject heading "stacking". I think they're talking about stacking a dog so the judge can go over it. But, no. When I open the email, it's actually about stacking books. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just like expecting food to taste a certain way when you put it in your mouth. If it tastes different than you expect, sour instead of sweet, etc. It might not be bad, but it's--surprising.
Both my interests have newsletters. Both have "Bitches." one being Smart and Trashy and the other being actual female dogs. Many of my wring friends have the same first names (and sometimes similar last names) to my dog friends.

And then there's my own failing memory, (see The Screw-Up)

I suppose a solution would be to have two different email addresses, but I can hardly remember to check one, so I guess I'll have to live with the confusion. Just please don't be offended if I ask about your bitch....

How 'bout you? Got interests that confuse? I'd love to hear about them.:-)

Karin